This article contains some basic admin information for Term 4, along with details about our continuation of Module 3 learning and the main events that are coming up this term.

Tēnā koutou katoa. Nau mai, haere mai ki te Kura o Amesbury.

A very warm welcome to all whānau (families), especially those joining our kura(school) for the first time. We hope you have enjoyed the holidays and took the opportunity to rest, recharge, and spend time with your whānau. Our kaimahi (teachers and support staff) are looking forward to another exciting term of learning with ngā ākonga(learners).

This article contains some basic admin information for Term 4, along with details about our continuation of Module 3 learning and the main events that are coming up this term. It is relevant for ngā ākonga throughout the kura. If you have more than one tamaiti (child) at kura, you will receive an email for each tamaiti. However, you only need to read the following information once!

Whānau Groups

Koru Hub has eight whānau groups and Pōhutukawa Hub has six. The role of your child’s whānau teacher is to act as a learning advocate for your tamaiti at kura. They are your first port of call if you have any questions, comments or concerns about kura or your tamaiti. The whānau teacher is not your child’s overall ‘class teacher’ - most ākonga will work with several kaiako throughout the year, but the whānau teacher will have particular oversight of your tamaiti.

Our teaching teams for Term 4 2025 are:

Koru Hub new entrant group (Māwhero): Angela Herman-Childs & Wee Ai Teh.

Koru Hub main group: Amaria Picard (team leader), Hannah Sadler (team leader support), Aleesha Majaw Monisse, Lily Patrick-Duncan, Sophia Hughes, Kate Dammer and Lauren Brown.

Pōhutukawa Hub: Emma Murdoch (co-team leader), Rupert Webb (co-team leader), Gar Kee Wu, Brydon Gillam, Charlotte Montu, Rachel Hosnell. Sarah King and Amelia Prendeville share a whānau group. Sarah works Monday-Wednesday & Amelia Monday-Friday.

Release teachers: Katherine Somcio, Charlene Laing, and Amelia Prendeville.

Learning support team: Sara Saunders (Māwhero), Navy Ny, Gerri Ng and Lida Ny (Koru) and Nic Love (Pōhutukawa) are our teacher aides who support ākonga with their learning.

English Language Learner support teacher (working in both hubs): Kirat Singh

Mandarin Language Assistant: Yilin delivers Mandarin and extension Mandarin learning across the kura.

Senior Leadership Team: Urs Cunningham - Principal and Jenny King Associate Principal (SENCO).

Koru Hub

Our Hub will be open from 8:30 am, and ngā kaiako (teachers) will be here to welcome all ākonga (learners).

Ākonga from Wee Ai and Angela’s whānau will be based in Māwhero (pink carpet) and can enter by the large sliding doors next to the library. Ākonga will need to take their shoes off before coming into the space. Kaiako will then be available to show your tamaiti (child) where to put their bag and how to sign in. A ‘What’s On?’ timetable will be projected on a big screen, showing ākonga what to expect throughout the day.

Ākonga from Hannah, Lily, Aleesha, Kate, Sophia & Lauren’s whānau are also asked to take their shoes off before entering the learning space and sign in before finding their bag space. A ‘What’s On?’ timetable screen will be visible to help them settle into the day.

At the end of the day, ākonga in Wee Ai and Angela’s whānau can be picked up from Māwhero by parents, caregivers, or older siblings. The rest of Koru Hub will continue with the usual pickup from the basketball court or drop-off zone. If your tamaiti is being picked up from the drop-off zone, please remind them to head there at the end of the day.

Pōhutukawa Hub

Our hub will also be open at 8.30 am, and ngā kaiako (teachers) will be there to welcome all ākonga.

We ask that ākonga enter through the door closest to their whānau space. Shoes should be removed and neatly placed on the shoe racks outside their area before entering the hub. School bags will also need to be placed in their whānau space.

Each morning, ākonga will need to sign themselves in using the TV screen set up for this purpose. A ‘What’s On?’ schedule will be projected on a big screen, outlining the day's plan and any notices. At the end of the day, ākonga are released from the hub at 2:55 pm.

*Before-School Reminder

As mentioned above, hubs are open for ākonga from 8:30am onwards. We ask that ākonga do not arrive before 8:30am, as they are not supervised by kaiako at this time.

Kelly Club operates a care programme before kura (school) for ākonga who need to arrive earlier. Please visit the Kelly Club page on our website for more information.

We encourage all ākonga to be at kura by 8:45am, allowing time to settle in, put bags away, check the day’s timetable, and connect with friends and kaiako before the bell rings.

Communications - HERO

We use LINC-ED Hero for all our communication, learning and administration at Amesbury School. Here is a link with step-by-step instructions for setting up a new Hero parent account. Hero will be regularly updated with school admin information, upcoming events, and general educational updates, as well as notices about events happening in our local community. You can also find tips and tricks for using Hero effectively in this helpful guide.

Any public notices will also be published on our kura (school) website.

Koru & Pōhutukawa Learning Sites

Each hub has its own website where you can find the hub timetable overview and links to current planning. These sites are open-access and can be viewed by anyone.

Please note: no personal student information or names are included in any of the planning shared on these public sites. Any documents containing specific names or personal details are kept private and can only be accessed by Amesbury staff.

You can find links to each hub's learning site here, and this article explains how to locate them from our main kura website.

Inquiry Module 3 – Our Connected World

This module started in week 7 of Term 3 and will run through to Week 7 of Term 4. 

Across the school, we will be exploring three big ideas:

• The world is made up of seven continents. We all have connections with particular continents.

• There are things that connect us and things that divide us.

• How can we all thrive together in, and for, our connected world?

Ākonga will learn all about the world around us! We will be finding out where the seven continents are, learning about some of the countries within them, and thinking about which ones we have connections to. We will also be talking about the things that connect people everywhere, as well as the things that make us different. Together, we’ll explore how we can take positive actions to build connections with others and show respect for diversity. As part of our learning, we will become researchers by coming up with our own inquiry questions and using different reliable sources to find the answers.

Term 4 Health Module

This term, the focus on health is on contribution.

Year 1-2 ākonga will be learning about contribution and what it means to be the best version of themselves. They will reflect on their own unique strengths, practise contributing both at school and at home, and take part in our cultural celebration. To finish, they will explore ways of supporting others by encouraging their peers and creating something special for their whānau.

Year 3-4 ākonga will be learning how to be the best version of themselves! They will help out at home with jobs like doing the dishes, shopping, or tidying, and will think about what makes them unique and how they can treat others kindly, no matter who is watching. At school, they will practise showing initiative by noticing jobs that need doing and getting them done, as well as joining in with our cultural celebration. To finish, they will focus on supporting others by celebrating their friends’ successes and doing something special for their whānau.

Year 5-6 ākonga are also learning how to be the best version of themselves! They will make a plan to help at home with jobs like preparing meals, making lunches, doing the dishes, or looking after pets, and will reflect on what makes them happy and motivated. At school, they will show initiative by noticing jobs that need doing and stepping in to help, as well as being part of planning, leading, or supporting a cultural celebration. To finish, they will practise supporting others by helping younger students, taking on kaitiaki roles, and doing something special to support someone in their whānau.

Our full planning for Term 4 can be found here.

Sharing and celebrating learning

Throughout the term, kaiako (teachers) will upload learning posts to your child’s Hero profile. These posts will include examples or explanations of the learning your tamaiti has done. You’ll receive a notification through your Hero account when a new post is added. As ākonga progress in their learning and achieve goals, their goals will be marked as achieved and new goals will be set. In each key learning area—reading, writing, and maths—there will be a statement showing where your tamaiti is currently working. If you have any trouble setting up or accessing your Hero account, please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s whānau teacher for support.

Every fortnight, both hubs will come together on Fridays to share and celebrate all the awesome things we’ve noticed happening across the kura (school). These gatherings are informal and are a great way to highlight the amazing learning and moments happening across the term. At the end of each term, our final share and celebrate event will include the presentation of the Amesbury Awesomeness Award from each hub.

Sports in Term 4

All ākonga (learners) will participate in weekly PE sessions, along with daily fitness and movement activities.

In addition to this, during Term 4:

# Thursday 9th October - Pōhutukawa Athletics at Newtown Park

# Monday 20th October - Northern Zone Athletics

Clothing and Lost Property

Named items will be handed directly back to your tamaiti (child). A small lost property box will be located in the main office for unnamed items. Clearly named items will not be held here.

To help ensure lost items are returned quickly and easily, please make sure that all uniform and clothing items are very clearly named before the start of term. As ngā ākonga (learners) will often be the ones reading the names, it’s important that names are clear and easy to read. We recommend using fabric label pens, name stamps, or iron-on name tags to make items easily identifiable. 

Toys and Personal Belongings

We generally don’t recommend that ākonga bring beloved toys or special personal items to kura. However, we understand there may be good reasons for some ākonga to bring items from home. If your tamaiti (child) chooses to bring a toy or other personal item, it must be kept in their bag during learning time. Please note that we cannot take responsibility for lost, broken, or traded items.

In Pōhutukawa Hub, we have said no football trading cards to be brought to school, due to issues with lost, traded or stolen cards.

Absences

Schools are legally required to account for the safe whereabouts of each tamaiti (child) every day, so notification to the school office should be before 9am if ākonga will be more than 15 minutes late or will not be attending kura (school). Please provide a reason for a late arrival/absence as kura are required to record this information. Absence notifications can be made by:

Hero app (preferred way - most efficient)

Email – office@amesbury.school.nz

Telephone – 04 477 3423

Text – 021 86 55 28

If your tamaiti arrives at kura any time from 9:00am, they must sign in at the office, not in the hub.

All absences are to be advised to the office, with extended leave requests of more than a week sent to the tumuaki (Principal).

Some Important Term 4 Dates

As always, our school events are all added to our school calendar as soon as we become aware of them. Please follow this link to our school calendar, housed on our school website. Some events may be added to our calendar as we go through the term, so please keep an eye on the weeks coming up on the calendar. Here are the main school events to date:

Tuesday 7 October - Mihi Whakatau

Thursday 23 October - Teachers & Principals STRIKE day (school closed)

Friday 24 October - Staff Only Day (school closed)

Monday 27 October - Labour Day (school closed)

Friday 21 November - Amesbury Cultural Festival

Monday 24 - Friday 28 November - EOTC Week

Monday 1 - Wednesday 3 December - Transition Days

Monday 8 December - Year 6 Leavers' Dinner

Wednesday 10 December - Water Play

Thursday 11 December - Last day of school. School finishes at 2pm.

We look forward to seeing you all on Monday, 6 October.

Ngā mihi nui,

The Amesbury Team